RAWALPINDI: All the main commercial areas of Rawal Town, Potohar Town and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board are being ruled by encroachers, as shopkeepers and vendors have occupied most of the city footpaths and open spaces, hampering traffic flow besides creating trouble for the pedestrians.

The encroachers have set up stalls on almost all roads of the main markets in the city, while the situation is the worst in Raja Bazaar and its adjacent areas, including Iqbal Road, Liaquat Market, College Road, Liaquat Road, Kalan Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Mochi Bazaar, Jinnah Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Bunni Market, Kashmiri Bazaar, Nankari Bazaar, Namik Mandi, Gungmandi, Moti Bazaar and Mughal Sarai.

Several city roads, which were widened to ensure smooth traffic flow, are now under the control of encroachers.

The situation is the same on the main road of the city, Benazir Bhutto Road, while its service roads, particularly the Circular Road, have fully been taken over by encroachers.

The Sadiqabad area, Kuri Road, Stadium Road, National Market, Khayban-e-Sir-Syed, Pindora Road, Dhoke Ratta, Dhoke Khabba and Tippu Road are among the places where encroachers have been given a free hand.

When contacted, a Rawal Town Tehsil Municipal Authority’s official said all-out efforts were being made to rid the city of encroachments. He said the authority had come up with a new strategy to cope with the problem. “A ‘beat system’ instead of the old ‘sector system’ has been introduced to remove encroachments from all areas. Raids are being conducted in various areas on a daily basis in this regard,” he added.

Similarly, many areas of Potohar Town have turned into “handcart bazaars”. The encroachers have occupied both sides of several roads, due to which both pedestrians and motorists are facing problems.

Traffic jam is a routine’s affair on most of the Potohar Town roads, particularly during peak hours.

Chakri Road, which is nearly 120 feet wide, is shrinking due to encroachments, while almost a two-kilometre area of the road near the Biscuit Factory Chowk has become a hub of auto workshops, vegetable and fruit merchants, restaurants, motor showrooms, building material warehouses and centre of other business activities. Similarly, Adiala Road, Dhamial Road, Morgah and Kota Kalan are congested areas and need attention of authorities concerned, as traffic jam for hours has become a routine on these roads. These localities are administratively under the control of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA), Potohar Town, but it seems that the authorities concerned are least interested in removing encroachments and have turned a blind eye to the problem.

Though, the authorities concerned launched a number of anti-encroachment operations, the situation never changed in the town, due to which not only motorists but also pedestrians face troubles.

The situation is not so different in the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) areas, including Saddar Bazaar, Babu Mohala, Hatti Chowk, Railway Road, Kashmiri Bazaar, Gawalmandi, Raheemabad Road, Misrial Road, Tench Bhatta Bazaar, People’s Colony Bazaar, Dhoke Syedian, Chungi No 22, Talimori, Dhari Hasanabad, Lalkurti, Westridge Bazaar, Dhoke Matkal, Bank Road and Ahatta Mithu Khan.

RCB authorities claimed to have launched anti-encroachment drives time and again, but said they could not completely rid the area of encroachers due to lack of staff